cosmic rays

Solar winds appear to trigger storms

(Newser) -
The weather on the sun might just have an effect on the weather here on earth. Fast-moving solar winds tend to go hand-in-hand with an uptick in lightning storms, a new study reveals. The finding is somewhat puzzling as scientists have long believed that increased solar activity led to a...
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NASA says blip was caused by cosmic rays

(Newser) -
Is there life on Mars—and has it left its lights on? A strange blip of light in a photo snapped April 3 by NASA's Curiosity rover has excited UFO enthusiasts, the Houston Chronicle reports. While experts suspect a pixel problem, some believe the light shining upward signals Martians....
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It'll line the walls, alongside food, water

(Newser) -
When you're on a budget-conscious mission to Mars, you can't waste anything—including your own, well, waste. The lucky couple tapped for Inspiration Mars' private voyage to the red planet will be tasked with lining the walls of their vessel with their own poop to shield themselves from...
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Cosmic ray detector spends 55 days aloft

(Newser) -
A NASA scientific balloon on a mission over the Antarctic to detect cosmic rays has completed a record-breaking flight. The Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder—"Super-TIGER"—broke the record for longest flight by a balloon of its size 46 days into its mission and landed after 55 days,...
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Scientist to seek WIMPs at site more than a mile deep

(Newser) -
Scientists hunting for the invisible substance believed to make up most of the matter in the universe are planning to move the search to a two-mile-deep mine in Canada. Researchers trying to detect dark matter about a half-mile below the surface of Minnesota suspect they may have captured two particles...
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Now NASA is on the case

(Newser) -
Of all the potential culprits behind Toyota's acceleration woes, this has to be the most far-fetched sounding: cosmic rays. Thing is, it may be true. Cosmic radiation can mess with the chips found in electronic components, Wired reports. Federal regulators are investigating whether or not radiation is causing Toyota's problems—...
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Astounding find may yield answers to universe mysteries

(Newser) -
Scientists searching for traces of the mysterious substance believed to make up most of the universe's mass believe they have detected it for the first time at the bottom of an old mine in Minnesota. A team of physicists say detectors placed half a mile underground to shield them from...
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Intrepid spacecraft finds strange bulges in the heliosphere

(Newser) -
Far out in space, a violent boundary zone marks the point where our solar system ends and outer space begins. NASA's Voyager 2 has now confirmed what its sister ship indicated: that this region is squashed and uneven, Space.comreports. This shock wave "sloshes back and forth like...
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